Two vultures feared to be critically ill, were, instead, “literally too drunk to fly” after getting into something in a grocery store dumpster, wildlife rescuers in Connecticut said in a social media post.
The pair found on April 7 in Watertown was quickly released back into the wild after spending a night recovering from “a wicked hangover,” A Place Called Hope said in the post.
An animal control officer in Watertown found one of the birds near a meat market’s garbage container and thought it might have been hit by a car, raptor specialist Christine Cummings said Wednesday, according to CT Insider.
The second bird was found soon after in the same location and brought to Cummings’ raptor rehabilitation center.
Cummings said that when the birds were found, the duo had trouble balancing and would pass out.
After some testing and observation, rescuers said they believed the birds came upon something in the dumpster that was fermented enough to get them drunk.
While they could not be sure of what the birds got into, A Place Called Hope said cocktail drinkers should be mindful that fruit used in cocktails and then thrown away could be eaten by hungry wildlife and cause intoxication.
As for the birds, like humans in a similar situation, they were given fluids and a big breakfast the following morning. Then, they were released.
“Thankfully, they returned home today before our Center could be labeled a ‘detox’ facility,” the organization said in the post.
After the birds were released back into the wild, they reunited with their colony, A Place Called Hope said.